Corona v. State

• Court: Florida Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: QUINCE, J.
• Citation: Corona v. State , 64 So.3d 1232 (Fla. 2011)
• Decision Date: 09 June 2011
• Docket Number: No. SC06–1054.,SC06–1054.
• Parties: Sergio CORONA, Petitioner,v.STATE of Florida, Respondent.

64 So.3d 1232

Sergio CORONA, Petitioner,

v.STATE of Florida, Respondent.

No. SC06–1054.

Supreme Court of Florida.

June 9, 2011.

Steven G. Mason, Orlando, FL, for Petitioner.Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, Kellie Anne Nielan and Wesley Harold Heidt, Assistant Attorneys General, Daytona Beach, FL, for Respondent.QUINCE, J.

Sergio Corona seeks review of the decision of the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Corona v. State, 929 So.2d 588 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006). The case on review expressly and directly conflicts with the decisions of this Court in State v. Lopez, 974 So.2d 340 (Fla.2008), and Blanton v. State, 978 So.2d 149 (Fla.2008), on a question of law. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const.

The conflict issue in this case concerns a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. Specifically, the issue is whether a discovery deposition satisfies the United States Supreme Court's mandate concerning confrontation, outlined in Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004), that a defendant be given a prior opportunity to cross-examine a declarant of a testimonial statement. The Fifth District Court of Appeal held that the prior deposition in this case fulfilled Corona's “prior opportunity to cross-examine.” Corona, 929 So.2d at 596. Subsequently, we issued our decisions in Lopez and Blanton, holding that a discovery deposition did not comply with Crawford's cross-examination requirement. Lopez, 974 So.2d at 347–50; Blanton, 978 So.2d at 155.

In light of our prior decisions in Lopez and Blanton, we reaffirm that a discovery deposition is not the equivalent of a prior opportunity for cross-examination. Because Corona did not otherwise have an opportunity to cross-examine the declarant in this case, we conclude that Corona's constitutional right to confrontation was violated. Moreover, because this constitutional violation resulted in the admission of improper evidence and constitutes harmful error, as explained below, we conclude that Corona is entitled to a new trial. Therefore, we quash the decision of the Fifth District and remand this case to the district court with directions to vacate Corona's conviction and sentence and remand to the trial court for a new trial.

Facts and Procedural History

The facts relevant to this case are as follows. Appellant, Sergio Corona, was convicted of the capital sexual battery of his eleven-year old daughter, A.C. The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred while Corona and his family were vacationing in Orlando, Florida, from their home in Illinois. The family included Corona, his daughter, A.C., his wife, Victoria Corona (hereinafter Victoria), and Victoria's relatives.

The State initially anticipated that Victoria and A.C. would testify at the trial. However, Victoria later became uncooperative, and the State was unsuccessful in its attempts to procure her or A.C.'s attendance for trial. ¹ At a subsequent hearing on the admissibility of A.C.'s hearsay statements that were made to police officers immediately after the incident, the trial court ruled, over Corona's arguments to the contrary, that A.C.'s statements were admissible.

Thus, the primary evidence presented at the 2002 trial against Corona became the hearsay statements of A.C., in addition to later statements made by Corona to police officers in Illinois. During her opening statement, the prosecutor informed the jury that they would hear testimony that A.C. stated Corona placed his mouth on her vagina and testimony that Corona admitted to the crime. A.C.'s statements were presented through the testimony of Deputy Jocelyn Avilas of the Orange County Sheriff's Department, over Corona's objections. According to Avilas, A.C. stated that Corona laid her down on the bed, pulled her panties to the side, and placed his mouth on her “toto.” ² A.C. then told Avilas that her mother came into the room and started screaming and hitting Corona. It was later revealed at trial that Corona fled the hotel room after being attacked by Victoria, took the family van, and drove to Chicago.

In regard to Corona's statements made concerning the incident, Corona filed a motion to suppress, which was denied by the trial court after a hearing. Thus, the statements were presented at trial through the testimony of Officer Jerome Maikowski, a Chicago police officer, and Trooper Susan Ewald, an Illinois state trooper. Officer Maikowski testified that on January 27, 2002, he received a call to assist a state trooper on the Eisenhower Expressway. When he arrived, Maikowski observed an individual, later identified as Corona, sitting in a van that was blocked by several other vehicles. Maikowski also noticed a large group of people that were yelling and attempting to get to Corona. Maikowski tried to calm the group down and placed Corona in the back seat of his police vehicle in order to defuse the situation. Once placed in the squad car, Corona stated, “I can't believe I did it. Why did I do it? That's my daughter.” Maikowski then spoke to some individuals in the group to determine the cause of the disturbance. After speaking to these individuals and a state trooper, Maikowski went back to his vehicle and handcuffed Corona, placing Corona under arrest.³ During Maikowski's subsequent drive to a police substation, Corona repeatedly made statements such as, “This is my daughter. This is my family. I couldn't help myself.” During a later interview, Corona confessed that he pulled his daughter's panties to the side and placed his mouth on her genital area. He also admitted that he ran out of the room when Victoria arrived.

Trooper Ewald testified that she was also called to a disturbance on the Eisenhower Expressway, where she observed a van being blocked by a sport utility vehicle. She also noticed a group of approximately ten people yelling, screaming and crying, with the screaming and hollering directed towards Corona. Ewald spoke with Victoria, then walked to Officer Maikowski's car and asked Corona for a driver's license, which he provided. Subsequently, at the substation, Ewald again spoke with Victoria and also A.C. Finally, Ewald interviewed Corona with Maikowski, during which time Corona confessed to putting his mouth on his daughter's vagina.⁴

Neither officer recorded Corona's statements at the time of the alleged confession, although Ewald did complete a field report for the case. Ewald testified that she completed a second report approximately six months later which did include Corona's confession. The report was completed at the request of an Orlando detective and a state attorney. After Ewald's testimony, the State rested its case. Corona then moved for a judgment of acquittal, which was denied by the trial court.

Corona testified as the only defense witness at trial. According to Corona, he and Victoria were having marital difficulties and had argued while the family was vacationing in Orlando. On the night of the incident, he was giving his daughter a hug in order to give her a kiss. He stated that he never put his mouth on his daughter's private areas, but Victoria came in and started screaming, scratching, and biting Corona. He then ran away because he did not want anyone to get hurt and he was upset. He traveled to Chicago and was stopped by a car a couple of days later. Victoria came out of the car and began hitting his van door. According to Corona, Victoria was the only angry person in the group, as the others were trying to calm her down. When the police arrived, they handcuffed him and placed him in the squad car. When the officers began driving him to the police station, he stated, “I can't believe I did it,” by which he meant that he could not believe he left his family in Florida. He never stated, “I can't believe I did it to my daughter.”

Corona also testified that he did not give his license to Ewald because Victoria had his wallet which he had left in Florida. Corona also denied admitting to Maikowski and Ewald that he put his mouth on his daughter's private parts. In fact, Corona testified that before coming to court, he did not know the meaning of “genital area” or “vagina.” Rather, Corona would refer to female sexual organs as “private parts.” He also had never heard the word “toto” before and had never heard his daughter use the word “toto.”

After Corona's testimony, the defense rested and renewed the motion for judgment of acquittal, which again was denied by the trial court. During her closing argument, the prosecutor made repeated references to A.C.'s statements that had been presented through Avilas's testimony. After deliberating, the jury returned a verdict finding Corona guilty of the charge of sexual battery on a child under the age of twelve. The jury also returned a special verdict finding Corona over the age of eighteen at the time of the offense.⁵ The trial court sentenced Corona to life imprisonment.

Corona appealed his conviction and sentence to the Fifth District Court of Appeal, which per curiam affirmed both the judgment and sentence. Corona v. State, 853 So.2d 430 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003). Corona then filed a petition for certiorari review with the United States Supreme Court. While the petition was pending, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 68, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004). The Supreme Court granted Corona's petition and remanded the case to the Fifth District for further consideration in light of Crawford. See Corona v. Florida, 541 U.S. 930, 124 S.Ct. 1658, 158 L.Ed.2d 352 (2004).

On remand, the Fifth District agreed with Corona's arguments that Crawford was applicable to his case. Yet the court noted that it had to determine whether his claim was preserved for review in accordance with state law requirements. The district court noted that in order to preserve an issue for appeal under Florida law, “the specific legal ground upon...